on the trail of the archaic revival

This site is not a just recipe website, although thats what it comes across as. What we are really sharing here are techniques: some of which our ancestors perfected over years and years, all over the world. Fermentation, soaking grains, beneficial herbs, bone broth, & preserving food are all part of what we like to call 'the archaic revival'. We also serve up ideas, challenges and neat foods and vegetables that you may not have tried.

Our priority is to use fresh organic produce, dairy, grains and meats. We begin with the groceries available to us (and that we can afford), preferably at a local farmers market and/or co-op. Once we have our ingredients, then we either look them up in the index of one of our fave cookbooks, or barge ahead on inspiration. One thing we are sure of - organic just tastes (feels!) better. Because we really love food, its all about using wonderful ingredients.

connecting food to farming

Its difficult to over-estimate the value of farmers and their endeavors. Given the importance of their work to our health, they would seem to deserve all our affection and more. We are encouraged by the recent trend away from big agriculture and monoculture. The small (and large) organic farms that are cropping up all around the world are making life better for their communities, and maybe for all of us. Organic meat, cheese, wine and beer are also making inroads to modern life. Sometimes the word 'conscious' comes up in place of organic: this word denotes the sense of personal responsibility that may lead to a better future.

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lamb shank stew (peposo notturno style)

ever since reading bill buford's kitchen memoir 'heat', i have been in love with his peposo notturno, a long-cooked peppery beef shank dish (but i use lamb rather than beef). the recipe calls for baking and lots of wine and pepper. i improvised with what sounded good and what we had on hand, adding mushrooms, rosemary, preserved lemon and an 11 grain mix from kasa koda. if you have a dutch oven, you can follow the steps up to the simmering part and bake it at 225 degrees. about the stew: get ready for succulent, warming, rich and homey. the meat will fall apart and the flavors will come together in a subtle earthy harmony. serve with a simple salad of winter greens, homemade kim chi and a glass of red wine, preferably the same one you cooked with. you may experience a conversational lull while eating as its hard to focus on anything other than the delicious food! serves 2 heartily or 4 less so.

The night before you’ll want to soak your grains, or if you forgot, do it the morning of. add 1 cup of rice to a bowl and cover by an inch with warm filtered water and 1 Tbl apple cider vinegar. cover and let sit between 7 and 24 hours. strain, rinse well and set aside. (if you are the plan ahead type, you can also cover your lamb shank in pepper the night before as you prep the grains).

Remove the lamb shank from the refrigerator, cut into large chunks and cover in fresh ground pepper. at this point, prep the rosemary by removing the leaves from the stem and mincing. keep the stems and leaves for the stew. once the shank comes to room temperature (about 30 minutes) heat the oil in a large stew pot to a medium heat. add the shank pieces and brown on all sides, a few minutes per side. this can be splattery and hot, use caution and don’t wear your favorite shirt.

Once the shanks have browned, add the broth & wine, garlic, rosemary, preserved lemon, mushrooms (i like to keep them whole) and more pepper (equal to about a Tbl). bring to a boil, then put a lid on and turn the heat down to a very low simmer. you’ll keep this up for the next 5-7 hours! make sure the shanks are mostly covered by liquid, add a bit more of water, broth or wine if necessary.

When you are an hour away from eating, give the stew a good stir. the meat should be falling off the bone and the broth should be a bit thicker, taste and adjust seasonings adding a bit more pepper or rosemary if you like. if you’ll be serving with the preserved lemons, don’t over-salt. at this point, you will add the rinsed and strained rice or grains. mix in and cover again. continue to simmer for the remaining hour. turn off heat. let sit covered for 10 minutes before ladling into bowls. serve with a small portion of preserved lemon and a glass of wine.

*if you don’t have preserved lemon around, add 2 lemon wedges (seeds removed) and 1/2 tsp or more of good sea salt